Richard J. Clifford, S.J., writes in America–and as is usual in many magazines and newspapers, the headline writer seems not to have read the article (it refers to “Hebrew Bible,” while Clifford gives reasons why he thinks there’s no problem with “Old Testament”).

Andrew Sullivan applauds “young evangelicals.” “They get it – and the message of the Gospels,” he says (meaning he thinks “the Gospels” are in favor of gay marriage). But then comes the racial angle: “Black evangelicals are another matter. There is, alas, no ethnic community as homophobic in America as African-Americans. Which is why the…

Yuba Community College District ignores First Amendment. Photo. Here is the college’s policy page.

A whirlwind trip today to Dallas and back. Had a meeting in Alvarado, then went to Keene to see my son (who seems to be enjoying college).

San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom doesn’t like it–his flip comments about gay marriage are coming back to haunt him in an ad supporting Proposition 8. But Newsom was the one who made this an issue.

As folks go crazy over the economy, let us follow our Jewish friends, as they celebrate the birthday of the world, and hear the sound of the shofar, announcing God’s judgment.

Congress shows it won’t bow to the threats and extortion of Wall Street. Houston area congressmen seem united in their opposition, regardless of party: Culberson, Lampson, Paul, Jackson-Lee, Green, etc. In the meantime, how come everyone is blaming this on banks giving mortgages to people who are struggling? Let’s talk about “derivatives,” “complex financial instruments,”…

It’s Goose Day today in Central Pennsylvania–where the medieval custom of eating goose on the feast of St. Michael and All Angels is alive and well.

Roger Ebert answers questions on Creationism. And then he discusses reactions to that article.

Four members of the Texas Board of Education are urging school districts to adopt the program of the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools. Objections are kind of vague in the article, but if you go to the webpage of the Texas Freedom Network, you’ll find documentation of the problems found by this…

There’s lots of nostalgia for the Catholic past, especially in the area of liturgy, says Commonweal blogger Cathleen Kaveny (John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law and Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame). And this has her worried. There’s plenty to complain about in contemporary culture. Nonetheless, I worry about the upswing…

Louisiana state representative, John LaBruzzo of Metairie, suggests paying the poor to get them sterilized. Archbishop Alfred Hughes objects.

CNS journalist Cindy Wooden seems genuinely surprised to learn Adam and Eve were vegetarians.

In discussions about legalization of homosexual “marriage,” its proponents say that Christian teaching on marriage as the exclusive, permanent, and fruitful union of a man and a woman is analagous to segregation and to chattel slavery, and will be universally recognized as such in another twenty years. They snidely point to broken homes, unfaithful spouses,…

The National Association of Catholic Diocesan Lesbian and Gay Ministries met in San Diego last week and got a surprise: Bishop Jaime Soto, coadjutor bishop of Sacramento, “courageously but gently” reminded them of Christian teaching on human sexuality. “Sexual relations between people of the same sex can be alluring for homosexuals, but it deviates from…

Commentary by Canadian canonist, Pete Vere, based on experiences living in both countries. After some personal narrative comes the key point: We talk about tolerance in Canada. More often than not, as our electoral choices show, Canadian tolerance is just an excuse to avoid discussing our differences. Thus Canadians stick to what’s comfortable, what’s least…

L’Osservatore Romano, via Commonweal.

Phil Lawler was to have a book-signing at the bookstore at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, promoting his book, The Faithful Departed, about the Boston locus of the sexual abuse crisis. One morning this June, Monsignor Walter R. Rossi, rector of the shrine, walked into the bookstore. It was about…

Video snippets compiled by ReligiousLiberty.TV on various aspects of the situation–including the legality of the proposed solution.

Dr. V. S. Acharya, Home Minister for the Indian state of Karnataka, downplays violence against Christians. The attacks were not against the entire Christian community. They took place only against certain groups such as New Life, Seventh Day Adventists, etc. They were distributing provocative material, exploiting people’s poverty and forcing them to convert to Christianity.…

Tonight’s melodramatic address by Bush raises many questions. How could our financial system be so fragile that a couple bank failures could raise the spectre of complete collapse? How did we get to this point? But another, more ominous, is this–If a couple of bank failures could lead the president to speak like this, would…

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, head of the Anglican Communion, went on pilgrimage today to the Catholic shrine of Lourdes, site of a church approved apparition of Mary to St. Bernadette. Catholic News Service says he gave the homily for a mass celebrated by Cardinal Walter Kasper. BBC. See the text of his sermon,…

Liam linked to this brief video from Democracy Now in a comment. Here’s the story on the Democracy Now webpage: Beginning in October, the Army plans to station an active unit inside the United States for the first time to serve as an on-call federal response in times of emergency. The 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st…

Yet again, Americans United shows that it is interested in legislating religious liberalism and denying religious freedom to conservatives. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services wants to enact regulations preserving the rights of conscience of health care providers. AU is against allowing these providers the right to refuse to engage in immoral acts.…

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave a speech at the UN yesterday–laced with classic antisemitic boilerplate. The Simon Wiesenthal Center responds, as does the ADL, which offers an historical overview “In His Own Words.” Do you harbor antisemitic attitudes? Consider these statements … if you find yourself saying yes repeatedly, you do. Jews are more loyal to Israel…

California Catholic Daily on the tactics of the homosexual lobby.

ReligiousLiberty.TV reports that a UK magazine encourages young women to be sterilized.

During and after the recent hurricane, I found a number of Scripture images coming to my mind. On the Friday night we were expecting the storm, as we fearfully waited for what might come, I read Psalm 107 for our evening worship: Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on…

From Michael Paulson of the Boston Globe: I’m not, myself, the world’s biggest animal lover, so it was with some trepidation that I traipsed over to the National Press Club in Washington on Saturday for a vegan luncheon for religion writers thrown by the Humane Society of the United States. I had no idea what…

Catholicism, having accepted evolution, also must accept the belief that death predated human sin; that the world was not created complete and perfect by God, but that it was created inherently imperfect and inclusive of what philosophers term, “natural evil.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church states this quite plainly 310 …[W]ith infinite wisdom and…